Submersible breeding structure

ABSTRACT

A submersible structure for breeding piscicultural species in any aquatic environment that includes at least one frame member shaped and devised to accommodate a plurality of bunches of fibers. A series of frame members containing bunches of fibers can be connected and/or stacked to form modules in which the fibers can collect fish eggs. Preferably, the structure includes buoys which allow the structure to be positioned in medium-depth water, relative to the bottom of the aquatic environment.

The invention relates to the technical field of breeding fish,especially Cyprinidae which live in freshwater, rivers, canals, lakes,gravel-pits and all aquatic environments.

Usually, this type of fish reproduces naturally on submerged aquaticvegetation. The disappearance of this higher vegetation in aquaticenvironments reduces the bio-mass for these species considerably. Thisaquatic flora also provides shelter for a multitude of micro-organismsand macro-invertebrates which are a food source for fish.

In order to overcome these disadvantages, a proposal has been made toconstruct shelters along the banks of rivers designed to encourage thereproduction of fish. These shelters are produced in the form ofassemblies made of concrete or a similar material which are alsosubmersed and can incidentally be used to support the banks of the riverbed. This type of shelter is admittedly useful but is expensive and verydifficult to transport, thus limiting the conditions under which it canbe used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention was to produce a new design for a structurethat encourages the spawning of fish and which, being of simplifieddesign, can be constructed and moved quickly as needed.

Another object of the invention was to produce a submersible structurewhich encourages the spawning of fish, but at a relatively affordablecost price and in highly adaptable module form to meet the observedneeds.

These objects and others will be apparent from the description below.

According to a first characteristic of the invention, the submersiblestructure for breeding piscicultural species in any aquatic environmentis characterised in that it comprises at least one frame shaped anddevised to accommodate a plurality of bunches of fibres, said frameaccommodating means of ballasting and floating means of suspension whichmake it possible to position the frame(s) in medium-depth water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The object of the invention is illustrated in a non-exhaustive manner inthe Figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a module of a submersible structureaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 is an alternative view of a double module in accordance with FIG.1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the deployment of a structure in thewater,

FIG. 4 is a view of a strip that accommodates a plurality of bunches offibres that allow the reproduction of fish,

FIG. 5 is a large-scale view showing several bunches of fibres,

FIG. 6 is a partial view of a frame that accommodates a plurality ofbars that support bunches of fibres,

FIG. 6A is a large-scale view of a detail in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to make the object of the invention more apparent, it isdescribed non-exhaustively, with reference being made to the Figures.

The submersible structure used to encourage the spawning andreproduction of fish, especially Cyprinidae, is referred to in itsentirety as (1). This structure can be submersed in freshwater, riverwater, running water, calm water or lakes, gravel-pits, canals, the seaand, generally speaking, in any aquatic environment. It comprises aframe (2) shaped and devised to directly accommodate a separatelymounted plurality of bunches (3) of fibres (4) made of an appropriatematerial, said frame accommodating means of ballasting (5) and floatingmeans of suspension (6) used to position the frame in medium-depth waterrelative to the bottom of the lake, river or similar environment.

This frame (2) forming a framework is made, for example, from metalangle sections or other material that has been treated to protect itagainst corrosion taking into account the environment in which it isused. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 6A, this frame is devised in the form ofmodules which can be placed side by side using appropriate means ofsecuring, connecting and fixing (7). Each frame can have a rectangular,square, circular or other shape and accommodates, crosswise or, ifapplicable, around its periphery, shaped strips (8) FIG. 1, to which thebunches of fibres are fixed which are preferably made of a syntheticmaterial. Each bunch as shown in FIG. 5, constitutes a branch that canbe produced with a very large number of fibres of the order of 100 to500 fibres, for instance, as required. These branches of fibres arearranged at intervals along above-mentioned strips and are fixed to thelatter by any appropriate means of connecting and anchoring. The fibresare therefore secured at their base as shown in FIG. 5, with their otherend being unattached so that they are able to move with the currents ormovements in the aquatic medium as dictated by the natural environment.Said fibres are made of a synthetic plastic material from aramide orother fibres and, more generally, they are made of a material that iscompatible with the aquatic environment. These fibres can be natural.The fibres are not destructible themselves, thus ensuring an adequatelyprolonged service life to meet the required needs.

The layout of the branches and fibres can be devised in any appropriateway and their support strips can be made of a plastic material such aspolyvinyl chloride or polypropylene in particular. The length of thefibres is determined appropriately to produce a kind of aquatic forestmaking it possible, because of the very large number of strands and thenumber of bunches or branches, to create an area that encourages thereproduction of fish. The number of strips per frame and the number ofbranches per strip is determined in accordance with needs. The drawingsshow, non-exhaustively, frames of rectangular shape but the frame can beof any other shape.

The colour of the fibres is advantageously chosen to blend harmoniouslyinto the environment in question. The fibres can be dark green or anyother colour.

The usefulness of such an arrangement is also the fact that the fisheggs can adhere to and be securely held between the above-mentionedfibres.

The various frames can be physically joined to each other to formmodules by means of fasteners such as screws, nuts or other fastenersthat fit into appropriate fastening lugs.

The choice of fibres and materials that constitute the structure isdetermined to ensure they withstand the conditions in the aquaticenvironment satisfactorily.

The buoys (6) and means of ballasting 5 are connected to said basicstructure by ropes, chains or equivalent (8). Advantageously, the buoysare arranged at the corners of the structure so that the area in whichsaid structures are deployed can be visually identified as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3.

The advantages are clearly apparent from the invention. The extremeadaptability of the submersed structured, the ability to position it asneeded and the ease with which any operator can position thestructure(s) thus designed without any particular difficulty at anylocation or distance from the bank are emphasised. The position of theframe(s) in terms of depth is also determined as needed and taking intoaccount the depth of the aquatic environments. The buoys can be designedwith display symbols allowing anyone to identify their position.

According to the invention, the bunches of fibres may, if applicable, bemodified or replaced. It is also possible to add bunches of fibres asneeded by fixing them by any appropriate means.

In an alternative embodiment, it is feasible to imagine such floatingstructures being deployed in a stacked configuration with clearancesbetween the various frames so as not to obstruct the movement andreproduction of fish.

The invention is simple to implement, its cost is relatively affordableand it requires no special-purpose preparation of river beds or anyareas that are used to site such structures.

I claim:
 1. A submersible structure for breeding pisicultural species inany aquatic environment, said structure comprising:at least one framemember; means of ballasting said at least one frame member; and meansfor suspending said at least one frame member so as to allow said memberto be positioned in medium-depth water, relative to the bottom of anaquatic environment wherein said structure includes a plurality ofstrips attached to said frame member, said bunches of fibers beingfixedly attached at one end to said plurality of strips, and saidbunches of fibers being unattached at an opposite end thereof, each ofsaid plurality of strips extending across a major dimension of said atleast one frame member.
 2. A structure as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid fibers are made from a plastic material.
 3. A structure as recitedin claim 1, wherein said fibers are made from a natural material.
 4. Astructure as recited in claim 1, wherein said strips are made from aplastic material.
 5. A structure as recited in claim 4, wherein saidstrips are made from polypropylene.
 6. A structure as recited in claim1, wherein each of said bunches of fiber contain approximately 100 to500 individual fibers.
 7. A structure as recited in claim 1, includingat least two frame members, and means for interconnecting said at leasttwo frame members together to form at least one module.
 8. A structureas recited in claim 7, wherein said modules can be formed into differentshaped configurations.
 9. A structure as recited in claim 8, whereinsaid module has a shape having at least two corners, wherein saidsuspending means includes buoys arranged at said at least two corners.10. A structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said suspending meansincludes buoys attached to said at least one frame member.
 11. Astructure as recited in claim 10, wherein said buoys include display andidentification symbols.
 12. A structure as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid bunches of fibers contain means for retaining fish eggs forallowing spawning and reproduction of fish.
 13. A structure as recitedin claim 1 wherein said aquatic environment contains fresh water.
 14. Astructure as recited in claim 1 wherein said aquatic environmentcontains saltwater.
 15. A structure as recited in claim 1, wherein saidfibers are dark green in color.